The International Review of the Red Cross is a quarterly published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Cambridge University Press.

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Issue No. 880 - 2010

Theme - Conflit in Afghanistan (I)

DownloadPDF 3 MB The year 2011 marks the tenth anniversary of the launching of ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’. For Americans, this is one of the longest wars in the history of their country, but when the American forces started to bomb Afghanistan the population of that country had already been suffering the ravages of civil wars, foreign intervention, and oppressive regimes for over twenty years. The Afghan conflict poses several challenges: that of building up stability in a territory ravaged by three decades of conflicts; that of the adequacy of the law to deal with the current crisis; and that of humanitarian action conducted by actors with varying goals and methods who are all operating in the same context.See also: Afghanistan II - issue No. 881

Table of contents

Editorial

Afghanistan, Socio-political and humanitarian environment

Interview with Dr Sima SamarDr Sima Samar was born in Jaghoori, Ghazni, Afghanistan, on 3 February 1957. She obtained her degree in medicine in February 1982 from Kabul University, one of the few Hazara women to do so. She practised medicine at a government hospital in Kabul, but after a few months was forced to flee for her safety to her native Jaghoori, where she provided medical treatment to patients throughout the remote areas of central Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: an historical and geographical appraisalWilliam MaleyAfghanistan’s current difficulties are in large measure the product of a troubled history and a troubled geographical location. These have combined to produce a debilitated state, open to meddling from a range of external powers, that has now experienced decades of trauma.

Dynamic interplay between religion and armed conflict in AfghanistanKen GuestIn approaching this subject the most important thing to understand is how Afghans perceive things to be. The physical characteristics of their environment are easy to define and describe, but their character, relationship to Islam, and how the two combine and affect their mode of warfare is more complex – a knot of truly Gordian proportions.

Transnational Islamic networksImtiaz GulBesides a surge in terrorist activities, events following the 11 September terrorist attack on the United States have raised a new challenge for the world: the emergence of transnational Islamic networks. This article gives an overview of the role of Islamist networks and their influence in South and South-west Asia and the Afghanistan—Pakistan region in particular.

Impunity and insurgency: a deadly combination in AfghanistanNorah NilandDisillusionment with the continued abuse of power, along with the steady increase in war-related casualties, is a significant driver of the escalating insurgency. It is not realistic to envisage an end to armed conflict and the development of democratic and accountable state institutions while impunity reigns.

State-building in Afghanistan: a case showing the limits?Lucy Morgan EdwardsSince the 1990s, the concept of ‘state-building’ has become the means by which intervenors have attempted to tackle ‘state failure/fragility’. The ‘ideal’ referred to when attempting to do this has been that of the classic ‘nation-state’ as developed by Max Weber. Today, however, some academics are beginning to outline an alternative response to state fragility, recognizing more traditional sources of legitimacy and a hybridity of political order.

The future of Afghanistan: an Afghan responsibilityTaiba RahimThis article argues that the future of Afghanistan lies in Afghan hands. The solution to its current problems cannot and will not come from outside. It is time for Afghan men and women to confront their problems, to address their divisions, and to envisage home-grown solutions.